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Name: Darshit Shah

Roll No: 15
Section/Batch: F1- PG 09/11 FW

Smoking: Social Issue


Smoking: psychological and social influences
As more of us become aware of the dangers of smoking, the percentage of smokers in the UK has fallen from
around 50 per cent of the population in the 1950s to 25 per cent in 2003.
Even with this fall in the number of smokers, it's estimated that cigarettes were responsible for more than 1.2
million deaths in 2000 in the European region of the World Health Organisation. In the UK, smoking is
responsible for around one in five deaths.
The illnesses caused by smoking extend beyond the well-reported links with cancer, heart disease and
respiratory illnesses. Smoking can cause impotence, ulcers and fertility problems and it's doesn't just harm
smokers.
Passive smoking causes lung cancer and is linked to cot death, glue ear and asthma in children. However, the
decline in smoking in the population has levelled off and the percentage of people smoking in the last 10 years
seems to have remained at around 25 per cent.
The good news is that about 70 per cent of smokers say they want to quit. Yet success rates for quit attempts are
between 10 and 20 per cent. This article looks at some of the psychological and social barriers that smokers
face.
The problem starts in childhood
Most smokers first start experimenting with cigarettes in their teens: in the UK only 1 per cent of 11 year olds
smoke regularly. By the age of 15, this number has risen to 22 per cent, with girls more likely to smoke than
boys.
There are many reasons why children start to smoke:
• Children whose parents smoke are twice as likely to start compared to those with non-smoking parents.
• A Scottish study of teenage girls found that smoking was part of an image cultivated by the girls who
were seen as leaders of their groups. Smoking went along with wearing short skirts, jewellery and make-
up.
• In contrast, a study by the World Health Organisation found that the 11 to 15 year olds who were most
likely to be smokers were lonely, had difficulty talking to parents, had problems at school and had
started drinking alcohol.

How we learn to smoke


Health psychology looks at the complex array of biological, social and psychological factors that influence our
health and illness-related behaviour.
Smoking is a biological addiction, with nicotine as addictive as cocaine and heroin. However, there is more to
being hooked on cigarettes than the physical addiction to nicotine. When people want to quit, they also have a
psychological habit to break.
Social learning theory describes how we learn by example from others. We are strongly influenced by our
parents, and other people we look up to, such as peers, actors and pop stars. This can lead us to emulate their
behaviour and try smoking.
There is an almost immediate effect on our brains with those first cigarettes, so we keep smoking to get this
reward.
Later we learn to associate smoking with other activities such as drinking coffee, going to the pub, etc.
We can become conditioned so just the thought of the activity triggers the need for a cigarette, just like Pavlov's
dogs learned to drool at the sound of a bell. These psychological associations remain when smokers try to quit.
Finally, you learn to keep smoking, because if you try to quit you are punished by withdrawal symptoms -
irritability, snappiness, lack of concentration.
Having a cigarette gets rid of these symptoms, negatively reinforcing the desire to carry on smoking.
Such conditioning keeps you hooked on smoking because the reward when you smoke is instant, whereas it
takes years before you become aware of the damage in terms of your health.
Similarly, when you try to quit, the 'punishment' of withdrawal symptoms comes quickly, whereas the benefits
of better health take longer to realise.
Attitudes to smoking and risk taking
Health promotion campaigns often use warnings and shocking images to try and motivate people to quit
smoking.
While these adverts are powerful for non-smokers, they may have little effect on people who are more willing
to engage in risky behaviour.
Coping with stress
Giving up cigarettes can be very stressful. People who are trying to quit have to put up with cravings, change
their habits, and resist the temptation to have or buy cigarettes.
If smoking is used as a strategy for coping with other sources of stress, such as work stress, smokers suffer a
double blow: their prop for dealing with stress is taken away and their stress levels rise as a result of trying to
quit.

Social influences
Peer pressure can be hard for anyone to resist, no matter what your age.
Smoking can play an important role in friendships, while offering a cigarette or asking for a light can be ice-
breakers to start a conversation.
It can create a bond between smokers, for example the huddled groups who smoke outside offices.
If your friends smoke, deciding to quit can be awkward because they may see it as an implicit criticism of their
habit.

Cultural influences
Over the years television shows and films have effectively built up associations between smoking and glamour,
sex and risk-taking.
From classic movies with Humphrey Bogart to Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction, cultural images involving
cigarettes are strong, and generally positive about smoking.
In addition, we are still subject to advertising that deliberately promotes smoking and makes positive
associations with brands.
The tobacco industry denies targeting young people, but the result of sponsoring exciting, risky, macho sports,
is that it attracts the attention of young boys.
A study found that boys who were fans of motor racing, which is heavily sponsored by the tobacco industry,
were more likely to smoke than those who weren't.
What these images don't convey are the negatives of smoking, from the yellow stains on your fingers and the
stench of your breath, or the long-term serious consequences from smoking.
What are your issues?
There are many psychological and social pressures on smokers, and on those who are trying to quit. But this
doesn't mean it's impossible to quit, or that you'll find it difficult.
Some people quit first time, some take more attempts, but if you don't try, you can't become one of the 11
million ex-smokers in the UK.

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